RUSTON, La. - Louisiana Tech refined some mistakes from Wednesday’s mini-scrimmage and continued polishing its playbook installation as the football team practiced in shells for two hours at Joe Aillet Stadium Thursday evening.

While Wednesday’s evening session saw a lot of 11-on-11 work in a mini scrimmage setting, Thursday’s practice saw limited team work with plenty of individual work and play refinement sessions, as well as special teams work. The team will continue to polish its plays as it works towards its first scrimmage of fall camp, set for Saturday. That scrimmage will be closed to the public.

Thursday’s work also involved the team working on fundamentals – such as finishing a tackle – that were identified as needing improvement in Wednesday’s practice.

“A lot of team work apart, trying to get to the corrections,” said head coach Skip Holtz. “When you get a lot of team work – like the 60 plays we ran last night – the object is not just to get them in, the object is to learn from them. So we had a great teaching time tonight. We went a little bit longer in practice than we have been because we had a lot of teaching time apart where we could correct a lot of the mistakes. But we still got a good number – maybe 60 or 65 – plays of team in. It was a good night.”

The offense and defense continued to challenge each other during the team period of Thursday’s practice. Adairius Barnes made one notable play early on, stripping the ball from Richie Casey in a nice takeaway move. The offense came back on the next play as Hunter Lee ran for a sizeable gain.

The back and forth continued a few plays later as Tevin King used his speed for an impressive run then the defensive line pressured the quarterback for two consecutive plays.

While no depth chart has been established yet, the coaching staff will begin to formulate one following Saturday’s closed scrimmage. That scrimmage will mark the halfway point through fall camp and the team will enter the final two weeks of preparations for the 2013 season and the opening game at North Carolina State.

Thursday’s practice was the first since three Tech players – Casey, Jeremy Graffree and Andrew Guillot – were approved by the NCAA to receive a sixth year of eligibility for a medical hardship waiver. (WATCH THE PLAYER REACTIONS BELOW)

The Bulldogs will host the program's annual Fan Fest on Saturday, Aug. 17 with an added bonus. This year's event has added a preseason tailgating event beginning at 4 p.m. and fans are invited to claim their regular season tailgating spots and fire up the grills in preparation for the 2013 season. Free food will also be available courtesy of some of Louisiana Tech's most loyal sponsors, including Brennan Dodge and Super 1 Foods. Free popcorn and drinks will be provided by Aramark.

Schedule posters, schedule cards and other material will be handed out while supplies last while fans can also purchase their season tickets or single game tickets during the event. The Louisiana Tech Barnes and Nobles Bookstore will also be set up selling merchandise.

Louisiana Tech opens the season on Aug. 31 at North Carolina State while the Bulldogs home opener is Sept. 7 against Lamar. To purchase tickets please call the LA Tech Ticket Office at 318-257-3631, email techtickets@latech.edu or visit LATechSports.com. The Tech Ticket Office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, please follow @LATechFB on Twitter or visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com.